As Real As It Gets - And Cheap At Twice The Price!

By Dale Himebaugh

A little personal background relevant to the discussion: I am flight simmer since "FS3" and "Jet" and fondly remember "Gunship" on my Commodore 64. I currently fly for a VA with FS2000 on a laptop Dell PIII and use add-on freeware planes during my flights. I can usually manage to download the files for aircraft successfully but still struggle with panels (I am sure there is a logical reason why panels are more difficult but boy, do I have a hard time with them). As you can tell, I am not a software developer of any kind.

Many people remark on the genius of Microsoft and other flightsim companies who release programs and then release a scenery design kit (SDK) for their product shortly after the release of the primary system. They say, "Look at all the free work that someone is going to do for them. Look at all the money they are saving." Or they lament, as in Nick's editorial, that the freeware and shareware designers are "...taking advantage of a program that was intended to be educational and entertaining" by providing program add-ons that are not free.

But flightsimming is like any other hobby. The more "professional" you get, the more expensive the hobby becomes. Make some comparisons, readers, of some of the other hobbies you might be involved in. Anyone out there do radio-controlled aircraft--hundreds of dollars just to start? How about motocross or catamarans--thousands of dollars! How about touring motorcycles (HD/Honda/BMW Classes)--tens of thousands. Who flies real planes (singles/twins/other), raise your hands? Now we're into the tens of thousands and going up.

Return to us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. Remember the older science fiction book by Robert Heinlein "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress"? The story was not one of the best he ever did in my personal opinion and there is no need to go into the whole plotline. But one of the lessons he taught in the story was a phrase; "TANSTAAFL" which is an acronym for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch". This lesson has stuck with me forever since I read the story years ago and this is the situation we are in flightsimming. The authors of add-on programs spend hours developing the products they provide. Some develop aircraft files because they love the game and want to fly their favorite aircraft. Want to fly a B-25G with 12 .50 cal. machine guns and a 75mm howitzer for anti-shipping in CFS? If someone hasn't already done one, I sure someone will. Prefer a version of a specific airline's livery? Someone probably will develop it. Some develop complex aircraft and scenery add-ons on a commercial basis and expect to be compensated for it. That's what being in business is about. If the program does not meet your needs, don't buy it.

As to the comment "Well, I wouldn't have a problem with (paying for add-on software) - providing that what we purchase was actually worth the price." Nick (and others), read the reviews before your buy. Carefully study the company's web site and see what is offered in the add-on. If it isn't what you want, don't buy it. Write the company and tell them what you want. If enough people want a Lockheed L1011 in Delta livery, it WILL be developed. It's called finding a market and filling it. For me, 767 Pilot In Command looks like a great program for simulating flying the Boeing 767, however it looks much too complicated for the casual simmer like me. So I probably will not but it. But this type of program provides a good lesson showing that if it is not what the customer wants, the companies will either 1) Develop what the market wants, or 2) Go out of business. Will they sell lots of "767 PIC"? I wish them all the best.

In short, flightsimming allows me to virtually fly aircraft that I would never have the chance to even sit in, let alone fly. Some of them were, and will remain, free. Some of them will be shareware or payware (Is that a term? I personally love the Abacus Private Pilot and Corporate Pilot add-ons.) The flightsim world, just as life, is full of compromises and trade-offs. If flightsimming is becoming too expensive, lower your sights a little and accept what is out there in the standard scenery or aircraft files. But if you want your flightsimming experience to be "As Real As It Gets", remember: TANSTAAFL.

Dale Himebaugh
PWA590
bigsandyat@hotmail.com

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